Every Story Starts Somewhere
by Oiaso
Summary: Felicity had gone to the bank alone, but when the waiting took much longer than expected, Oliver decided to go over there to keep her company. They couldn't imagine he would end up fighting for his life, nor predict how close they'd grow after their visit to the bank. Every story starts somewhere.
1. A Bad Feeling

**A/N:**Hey guys! How are you doing?

I wanted to write a multi-chapter Arrow fic for a while, and after considering different ideas, scenarios, and characters, I ended up writing this.

I knew that I wanted an injured Oliver with some Olicity. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to focus just on their friendship (as I've done so far) or if I wanted to go further and explore their relationship in a romantic way. The answer came in the form of Stephen Amell's tweet.

On March 5, 2014, when the episode 2x15 "The Promise" was about to air, he tweeted: "Every story starts somewhere. #Arrow Tonight!"

Of course he was talking about another thing, but that tweet came as a revelation to me, and when I read it, it was clear to me that I wasn't going to stop just in their friendship.

Another thing I wasn't sure about was if I wanted to turn it into a reveal fic. I thought a lot about it, but eventually, and with the encouragement of a good friend I decided that I _did _want to. So yeah, our hero's secret identity will not be so secret.

I know I didn't have to give you any explanation, but I wanted you to know where this story comes from.

This fic is set before 2x04, since no one knows that Sara is alive. So, Felicity is Oliver's Executive Assistant, there are only 3 people in Team Arrow, Moira is still in jail, and Lance is no longer a Detective. From there, everything that happens is not canon.

As always, I have to thank my fantastic beta **luvtheheaven** for her awesome help; because without her, I couldn't have shared it with you.

I hope you like this, even if it is only a little bit.

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow.

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**Chapter 1. A Bad Feeling**

Felicity had been kneeling for so long that her legs were numb. The floor was cold under her knees. Her hands were stained with blood, with _his_ blood. But she didn't care about her hands, because only one thing mattered to her right now: the man who was lying on the floor next to her, fighting for his life.

"Hold on Oliver. You _can't_ give up," she told him matter-of-factly. "Do you hear me? Because you can't _die_. You _can't_ do this to me! _Fight_ Oliver, fight like you always do. Please," she begged desperately.

_**~ Several hours earlier ~**_

Oliver looked at his watch for the umpteenth time. It was almost noon. He always got bored in Queen Consolidated meetings, but this one in particular was extremely boring and he couldn't understand why. There was nothing to make it worse. The only difference was Felicity's absence. But that couldn't be the reason for his impatience, could it? He was aware that she wasn't only his Executive Assistant; she was his friend and partner. But that was something they didn't show in public, even less during the meetings, so why was he so anxious to get out of there? He didn't even know if she would be in her office at the end of the meeting.

A few minutes past ten o'clock Felicity had received a phone call, and a moment later she'd entered his office to tell him that she had to go to the bank, that it was urgent and that she hoped to be back before the investor's arrival. But it didn't happen like that, and Oliver had to sit through the whole meeting without her. When he looked back at his watch, Isabel glanced at him disapprovingly. Fortunately for him, it seemed that the meeting was _finally_ about to end. He was right. Not much later, he was leaving the room to go talk to Felicity, but she still hadn't returned. He let out a small, disappointed sigh and went to his office.

He was sure that she hadn't called him, but still he felt the need to check his phone. Nothing. He put the phone back in his pocket and glanced at her desk through the glass. The office looked very empty without Felicity. He got up and looked out the window while Diggle observed him silently from his position by the door. He wondered when Oliver would realize how much he needed her in his day-to-day and how long it would take him to accept that he had feelings for her.

"Why don't you call her?"

There was no need to say her name. Both of them knew exactly where Oliver's mind was.

"I don't know if I should," he answered.

He wanted to call her, of course he wanted to, but he was concerned that if she was busy he might bother her. It was one of the many things that had changed about him as a result of being on the island. He wasn't that selfish guy who took his girlfriend's sister on his family's Gambit. Not anymore.

"Call her."

It wasn't an order, but it had the same effect. He phoned her. She didn't take long to answer.

"Did something happen?" she asked worriedly.

Oliver frowned when he heard her. Why was it so unusual for him to call her without something bad having happened?

"No, don't worry. It's just that it's almost lunch time and as you still haven't come back we were wondering what is taking you so long."

"What time...? Oh wow!" she exclaimed when she looked at her watch. "I didn't notice it was so late. I know I've been here for a while, but I didn't think it had been this long! You'd think I would've noticed, as they don't even have any magazines and I've just been sitting here, really bored, waiting the whole time. I should have changed to another bank a long time ago."

"Because they don't have magazines?" he asked, amused.

"What? Of course not! I should have changed because they have completely incompetent workers! Oh, no... Now everybody's staring at me... Why did I say it so loud?"

"Calm down, Felicity. How much longer do you think you'll take?"

"I wish I knew... There are still three people ahead of me, but I don't know. Besides, it seems it's their lunchtime too, because one of the two workers just left."

"Ok, don't worry, Felicity. I'm done here, and the next meeting isn't until five, so we'll leave now to pick you up and then we'll go to Big Belly."

"That's not necessary, Oliver. I'm sure you have better things to do. And as I said, I don't know how long it will take, but I probably won't be done by the time you arrive."

"Well, then I'll keep you company while you wait."

"Oliver, really, there's no need for that!

"Felicity."

She pouted, because she knew that tone too well. Oliver used it when there was nothing and no one who could change his mind.

"Ok, I'll be here," she said before hanging up.

Dig didn't hear what Felicity said, but he still understood the whole conversation. Neither he nor Oliver said anything during the ride to the bank, each lost in their own thoughts. When they arrived, Diggle asked:

"Should I go in with you?"

"No. If you go in with me, we'll attract their attention," _and I don't think Felicity would be happy if that happened_ was the part of the sentence that Oliver didn't say aloud.

His friend nodded silently. Once in the bank, Oliver soon found Felicity even though she had her back to him. Her ponytail was unmistakable.

"Hey," he said as he put a hand on her forearm.

Felicity jumped by the contact because she hadn't noticed he was already there.

"Oliver! Don't scare me like that! You know that I don't like when you get close so quietly... One of these days, I'm going to have a heart attack, and I'm too young for that. Although taking into account that I spend almost every hour of the day sitting, and that I eat more junk food than I should, I guess my chances of having a heart attack will have increased considerably, and maybe I should go to the doctor to get a checkup but I don't like needles... Have I already told you that I don't like needles?"

Felicity fell silent when she saw Oliver's raised eyebrow. She used to ramble when she was nervous, but also when she was scared or even angry. Without a doubt, this visit to the bank and the long wait were getting on her nerves.

"By the way, where's John? I thought he would come with you."

"He's waiting in the car."

Felicity nodded, understanding the words he didn't say.

They both knew what was being said about them at Queen Consolidated, and they didn't want those rumors to spread throughout the city. Oliver was used to dealing with the tabloids, he'd done it since he'd been born, but Felicity had never experienced this kind of fame, and she didn't even deserve it because there was nothing between them, at least not in a romantic way.

That's why Oliver asked Diggle to stay in the car. If he had entered with Oliver, they would have attracted too much attention, and this other way it was easier for Felicity and Oliver to go unnoticed. The truth was that no one seemed to have noticed that Oliver Queen was there.

Felicity huffed in frustration. She was tired of waiting. She'd thought that with Oliver at her side the situation would improve, but she'd been wrong. They'd been silent for a while. But it wasn't a comfortable silence between two friends who didn't need to say anything. _No_. It was a silence that neither of them knew how to break. They were used to spending time together, _a lot_ of time actually, but they never talked about anything that wasn't related to either of their two jobs.

It was an awkward silence. Felicity had never liked silence; it made her feel uncomfortable and brought her back bad memories of her childhood. When her father had left them, her mother had fallen into a depression from which she never managed to get out, not entirely at least, and Felicity had to go on without her support. But one of the things that had hurt her more was that from the day after her father left until some years later, when Felicity was already in college, her mother didn't talk to her.

Even when her father was still in her life she used to talk more than the other children in her class, but once her parents had left her with only silence, she grew to hate the lack of noise and so as a coping mechanism she'd learned to always fill the void with her own voice. Although over the years she had managed to, somehow, overcome that her father had abandoned them and all of the consequences that had had for her, she knew that she would never stop rambling. Never. It was already a part of who she was. And yet, at this particular time, with Oliver at her side, she didn't know what to say to fill the silence that surrounded them.

She looked at him, wondering if the silence was awkward for him too. When she saw his left hand she didn't have any doubt. He was rubbing his thumb and forefinger, as he did whenever he felt uncomfortable. But when she observed him more closely, she could see that the reason for his discomfort had nothing to do with what was bothering her. No, Oliver's unease was due to something else.

His gaze was full of determination, and yet it wasn't focused on any particular spot, but wandered from side to side as if he was looking for something that was wrong. Apparently Oliver thought something bad was going to happen.

"What's wrong, Oliver?" she asked, softly.

He glanced at her, surprised that she'd noticed his discomfort.

"Nothing."

Felicity pursed her lips and tilted her head, letting him know she didn't buy his lie.

"I don't know, Felicity. I feel like there is something wrong, but I don't know what."

Oliver didn't know how to explain it. On the island he'd learned to trust his instincts, and that was what he was doing now. Something was wrong, he felt it, but he was unable to figure out what, and that was getting on his nerves.

He wondered if maybe, for once, his instinct was failing. Later, when all the people who were in the bank were in danger, and he was fighting for his life, he wished that had been the case.

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**A/N 2:**Thanks you for reading! I'll be very grateful if you leave me reviews, because I would like to know what you think. Thank you very much!


	2. The Significance of a Name

**Every Story Starts Somewhere**

**A/N:**I'm here again to post the second chapter.

I want to thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews, and I feel that I don't have enough words to really convey how much it means to me.

And of course, I can't forget to thank my beta. You're amazing, **luvtheheaven**!

I hope you all like this chapter too.

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

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**Chapter 2. The Significance of a Name**

Oliver observed the people who were in the bank: A woman trying to entertain her kid who was very bored, a suited man who was looking at his watch every minute, a young man who didn't take his eyes away from the ground, an elderly couple sitting on uncomfortable plastic chairs...

There were more people in the bank, but Oliver returned his gaze to the young man. He only looked up from the floor to check his phone. There was something odd about him, and it was evident that he was very nervous. When he looked for first time at something other than his shoes or his cell, Oliver followed his gaze.

At the other side of the bank, near where the clients were attended to, there was another man who stared back. His features were similar, but he was older, and he seemed more calm and confident.

Oliver's jaw tightened. He'd a bad feeling about these men. He thought of sending a message to Dig asking him to be alert, but before Oliver could get his phone out of his pocket, the older one had gestured to the other, and both slid a hand to their belts.

Without thinking, Oliver took Felicity's arm tightly, placing her behind him protectively. She was going to complain, but her words got lost in her throat when she realized what was happening.

The men who had seemed suspicious to Oliver had taken out guns and were aiming indiscriminately toward everyone there.

"Everybody freeze! This is a robbery!" the older one shouted.

"If you all do exactly what we say and you do not cause us any problems, no one will get hurt," explained the younger one.

"You're going to fill these bags with unmarked bills," the other ordered the cashier, giving her two duffel bags. "The rest of you: lie down where I can see you and don't say a word if you don't want me to blow your heads off."

The other bank employees slowly went out to where the clients were, and they all did what they were asked; all of them except for a girl who was 16 or 17. Her eyes were wide open and her breathing was very hectic. When one of the robbers pointed a gun to her and ordered her to move, the girl became paler. She was so terrified that she couldn't move.

"She's having a panic attack," Oliver muttered.

He knew he must help the girl to calm and lie down, but he must find a way to do it without risking the others' lives. But Felicity didn't think, she just acted. She got up and spoke in so strong and calm a voice that it even surprised herself.

"This girl is having a panic attack and needs help."

"I said to lie down!" The youngest of the robbers shouted as he aimed directly at her head.

"I only ask you to let me go to help her calm down. Just that. Let me talk to her. Please," Felicity said as a drop of cold sweat ran down her back.

"Okay, go."

Felicity ran to the girl and asked her for her name.

"So-Sophie."

"Alright Sophie, give me your hand... Come, sit here."

Felicity led her to one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, knowing that the others were looking at both of them. She forced Sophie to bend over, putting her head between her knees. Felicity sat on the floor in front of her, so that their eyes were at the same level.

"Now, you're going to breathe in slowly, like me, and then you're going to breathe out in a similar manner, very slowly. Come on, Sophie, honey. I know you can do it. You have to take deep breaths... Very good Sophie, you're doing great."

Meanwhile, the cashier was putting wads of cash in the bags. Oliver observed the robbers. Now that they were next to each other, he had no doubt that they were brothers. The older one played the boss-role, he was who gave the orders, and who seemed more dangerous. The other, however, was submissive, and merely imitated his brother. Although they didn't put their guns down even for a moment, it seemed that they had no intention of using them. Most likely was that they found themselves in a bad situation and robbing a bank was the only solution that they could come up with. They weren't professional robbers, Oliver was sure of that, but they'd still been smart enough to choose the only bank in the entire area which had dark windows, so it was almost impossible to see what was happening in the bank from the outside. That gave them the privacy they needed to prevent someone outside from calling the police.

That was why his instinct told him that if everyone remained calm, the robbery would end soon and no one would get hurt. He'd been right when he felt something bad had been about to happen – it did, a robbery had begun to ensue - so he expected that he was right and should trust his instinct this time too. Once the robbers had escaped with their cash, Oliver could be sure to retrieve and return the stolen money that night with Felicity's help.

When he thought of her, he couldn't help but look to the place where she was. Her back was to him. The other girl was still very pale, but her breaths were much quieter. He was proud of Felicity. Although she was scared too, she had managed to hide that feeling and calm the girl.

"Come on, hurry up!" The younger of the two robbers demanded to the cashier.

He seemed anxious to get out. That couldn't be good.

"I-I'm almost finished," she answered, scared.

"Did I ask you to talk?" She shook her head no and he continued talking. "Then shut up. I think we said that we don't want to hear anything."

At that moment, a phone started ringing in the room. Felicity shivered as she recognized the melody. It was Oliver's.

"Whose phone is that?" The older brother asked as he approached the place where the sound was coming.

Oliver felt helpless and that made him angry. Still, he was able to speak in a calm voice.

"It's mine."

A few seconds later he felt a boot crashing into his ribs and he groaned in pain. Felicity's hand flew to her mouth to stifle the scream that rose in her throat.

"I should answer."

"What? It won't happen, so forget it."

Oliver knew that he had to figure out a way to get them to allow him to pick up his phone. It was Diggle who was calling, and if Oliver didn't answer, Diggle would come into the bank, which might end up getting him shot.

He played his only card: the truth, and he hoped it would work.

"It's my bodyguard who is calling, and I should answer if you don't want him coming in."

"Bodyguard?"

"Who the hell are you?"

He got up slowly, because sudden movements weren't recommended with such a nervous person who was holding a gun pointed at you.

"Oliver Queen… I didn't expect this."

Other hostages murmured, confused. Nobody understood what the billionaire was doing there.

"Shut up! Okay, Queen. Pick up the damn phone, but if you give him the slightest clue of what's going on in here, I'll kill her," he threatened as he aimed at a woman who was lying next to him.

Oliver slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket, thinking about what he could say to Diggle to let him know what was happening. He knew he must be very careful, because although it seemed that they were reluctant to use their guns, he didn't want to take any risks. Oliver knew Diggle well enough to be sure that if he realized it was a robbery, he wouldn't come in and risk the lives of the hostages, but Oliver thought that Diggle could at least follow the robbers once they were leaving the bank, so Oliver decided to take the opportunity to tell him what was going on.

"Hey _John."_

Felicity smiled when she heard him. Oliver was much more intelligent than people thought.

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**A/N 2:**Thanks you for reading! And please don't forget to leave me reviews so that I'll know what you think. Thank you very much!


	3. The Phone Call

**A/N:**First of all, I want to thank you for all the favorites, follows and reviews. And thanks also to my beta; your help is priceless, **luvtheheaven**! But I especially want to thank to those people who left reviews, because I love to know what you think. You've been so kind to me so far, but please don't be afraid to tell me if there is something that it doesn't make sense to you, or that you think is wrong. If you prefer, you can also send me a PM ;-)

That said, I guess you want to know how it the phone call between Oliver and Diggle went… Am I right? Yes? Okay, don't worry, I won't make you wait anymore. Here you have the third chapter. Enjoy it!

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

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**Chapter 3. The Phone Call**

Diggle was playing one of those silly games Felicity had forced him to install on his phone. Somehow, she always managed to get him to do what she wanted.

Bored, he checked his watch. It had been a while since Oliver had entered the bank, and he found strange that Oliver hadn't contacted with him yet, so he called him. When Diggle heard the fourth ringtone he began to realize something was out of the norm. Oliver never took more than two tones to pick up the phone. Sometimes he wondered if he slept with it in his hand.

"Hey _John_," Oliver said with particular emphasis on his name.

_John? Did he just call me John?_ Felicity often used his first name, but Oliver didn't. Never. _Something must be wrong, very, very wrong._

"What's going on, Oliver?"

"Yes, I'm _still_ here," he preferred not to say 'we' for Felicity's safety. "I didn't think there would be so many people, so I'll take a little longer than I thought. And I still have a lot of work to do, so I'll have to finish it at night."

_Night work? That can only mean one thing: Arrow-Business. And given that he was in a bank, that probably meant some kind of robbery was what was going on at the moment._

"Oliver, I need to know how many robbers there are and if they are armed."

"Yes, yes, of course, I'll be on time for the lunch. Is it at two, right?"

_Well done, Oliver. Right now I bless your poker face._

"How many hostages have been taken? Is anyone hurt?"

"_No_, but you know that I don't like when I have to wait; it gets on my nerves. And knowing that this _afternoon_ at _five_ I have a meeting with investors is not helping much, truth be told."

_This afternoon? At five? Might he mean...?_

"17?"

"That's it."

"I'll call the police right now."

"No, it's not necessary, don't worry. But I need you to do something for me. I'm expecting a call from _Quentin_ and I'm running out of battery, so I'm going to turn off the phone as soon as I hang up. If I don't answer, he'll try my other cell phone. So, can you stop by the office and pick it up? And if he calls, tell him I'm busy, and that I'll contact him as soon as I can."

Felicity had configured Oliver's phone so that if Lance called the Arrow and Oliver didn't answer, the call automatically would go to Diggle's phone. Oliver knew that as soon as Lance was aware that Felicity was in trouble he'd call The Arrow. But this time he'd be unable to help, and Diggle would have to invent a plausible excuse for Lance.

Perhaps the precautions Oliver was taking were excessive, but he preferred to have everything under control, just in case.

"All right, man, but if you all aren't out of there in half an hour, I'll call the police."

"Hey, I _have_ to hang up."

Diggle guessed that the robbers demanded it.

"Nooo!" A woman shouted. "Tell him! Help!"

It was the last thing Diggle heard before the line went dead. The other hostages clearly weren't as calm as Oliver was.

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot made Diggle's blood run cold.

"Okay, change in plans. I can't wait. If I don't call the police, somebody else will do it," he thought aloud as he dialed Lance's number.

"Officer Lance. Who is this?"

"It's John Diggle."

"Queen's driver?"

Diggle grimaced at that. He didn't like to be considered just his _black driver_, but he understood that they had to keep up appearances.

"Yeah ... There's a robbery in the bank on Collins Street. Two armed men."

"Wait, wait a minute. How do you know?"

"I just spoke to Mr. Queen. I guess he explained to the robbers that if he doesn't get in touch with me I'd call the police or something, so they let him talk to me. He managed to tell me what's going on without the robbers realizing what he was doing."

"What the hell is he doing in _that_ kind of bank? That's not for billionaires."

"He was accompanying Ms. Smoak."

"What? Is she also being held hostage?"

"I'm afraid so. The two of them plus 15 other people. Until a minute ago nobody was injured, but I just heard a gunshot, so now I can't know for sure."

"Okay, I got this."

Just a few minutes later, his phone rang again; it was Lance, this time looking for The Arrow's help.

"Ms. Smoak is in trouble."

"I know."

"How do you know? Never mind. I've already notified the precinct, and several SCPD units are on their way, but I guess you'll show up soon as well."

"I'm sorry, but this time you are going to have to handle it without me."

"What? We're talking about Ms. Smoak! She risks a lot for you! You can't just give up on her when she needs you the most!" His voice was filled with such outrage that Diggle was glad Oliver couldn't hear it. He didn't need to add any more guilt to his plate.

"I know, but I _can't_ do anything. Not this time."

Although 'Arrow's' voice was distorted by the voice modulator installed on the phone, Lance could detect the sorrow that accompanied his words.

"What are you not telling me?"

"I'm on the trail of some pretty dangerous guys, and if I give up now I'll lose them forever. I can't be in two places at once."

It was just the first thing that popped into Diggle's mind, but luckily, Lance didn't say anything, although he probably didn't buy his lie.

"Well, you better pray that nothing happens to her," Lance said before hanging up.

He had no need to add anything more to the sentence; he'd made his feelings clear. Since Felicity and Lance had worked together to disable the earthquake device, their relationship had strengthened and he really cared for her.

Diggle sighed. Sitting in the car he felt so powerless... There was nothing he could do to help. He thought about going to the lair and putting on the Arrow suit, but he knew that it was a ridiculous idea. It worked to fool the police once, when the Hood had to be seen somewhere in the city while Oliver was forced to stay home. But he hadn't had to use the bow or do any of the stunts that Oliver would always do. Diggle had many skills, but he simply wasn't the Arrow.

His stomach clenched as he thought back on the shot. What if it had hit Oliver? What if it was Felicity who was injured?

Police sirens could be heard in the distance. He left the car and waited. Hopefully Lance would be the first to arrive, preventing him from having to repeat what he'd already told Lance to any new officers.

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**A/N 2:**If somebody is wondering why I chose "Collins Street", I'll say that it's my little attempt to remember Tommy, just because I miss him.

Thank you for reading! I'll be very grateful if you leave me reviews, because I would like to know what you think. Thanks!


	4. My life My choice

**A/N:**Hi guys! How are you doing?

I can't believe your incredible support for this fic. Every follow, favorite and review means a lot to me; and I'm very happy knowing you're enjoying this story so far. And I hope you'll like this chapter too. I'll only say that I love Felicity.

One last thing, I haven't been able to reply to all the reviews of chapter 3, because I had very little spare time; but I will answer all them asap.

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

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**Chapter 4. My life. My choice.**

"Hey, I _have_ to hang up."

The robbers were angrily gesturing to Oliver, making it clear he must end the call.

"Nooo!" A woman shouted. "Tell him! Help!"

The next thing Oliver heard made his blood run cold; it was the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. When he turned around he saw the younger brother trembling, staring in horror at the gun. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

"Can you tell me what the hell you were thinking?" the older one shouted to his brother.

"She was screaming, and his bodyguard was going to figure out what's happening... I just wanted to silence her."

"It doesn't matter anymore! A gunshot, Mike? Really? The police must already be coming."

"Have you filled the bags?"

"No, not yet," the cashier answered nervously.

"We don't have time."

"But we can't go yet. We need the money!"

"I know!" He began to pace back and forth nervously, and then police sirens could be heard approaching. "You are all going to get up slowly and walk to the windows, but keep your backs to them. I want to see your faces. You in the middle," he said, pointing to Oliver.

They did what had been ordered, and somehow Felicity managed to get herself next to Oliver in the process. She was shaking slightly and Oliver did the only thing he could do to try to calm her. He slipped his hand in hers, and began to stroke small circles with his thumb. It worked. He felt how Felicity stopped shaking, but what surprised him was that it also helped him. While he had spoken to Diggle he hadn't realized how worried he was about her. Now that he was beside her, with their hands joined, he felt warmth in his chest he hadn't expected and that took him by surprise.

"It's done," the cashier said quietly.

The older brother walked over to look at the bags.

"This isn't enough."

"But it's all the cash I have in my cash drawer."

"Don't lie to me!" he shouted as he aimed at her head.

"I can also take the bills from the other cubicles."

"So what are you waiting for?"

The woman got up and went to another cash drawer in order to get them more money.

"Come on, hurry up! We don't have all day!"

Actually, they had very little time. Police sirens could be heard nearby. But the bags weren't full enough and they needed the money desperately. By their body language, Oliver concluded that they were unsure if they should try to get out of there right then or wait until they'd gotten the amount they needed, even if that would mean having to cope with the police. When one of the bank's phones started ringing, it was clear that they no longer had any choice to make.

The older one picked up the phone and turned on the speaker, but he said nothing.

"I'm Detective Lance, from the SCPD. Who's this?"

"Does it matter?"

"If you don't want me to call you just a robber, yes, it matters." His voice was calm and strong, as if he had done this thousand times, although it was actually his first time. He knew that it was the head of Hostage Negotiations who should be making this call, but Lance didn't know when he would arrive, and there wasn't any time to waste.

"You can call me Henry."

"Okay, Henry then. We heard a shot. Tell me, is anyone hurt? Do you need medical aid?"

"No!" the younger brother shouted.

He had fired his weapon, yes, but he had only done it to scare them. He could never shoot someone. He was not a murderer.

"Who's that? Your accomplice?"

"Why should I answer you?"

"Because if I can call you Henry, it wouldn't be fair for him to keep being called an accomplice, don't you think?"

"Mike, he's Mike."

"Okay. Tell me, Henry." In the police academy he'd learned that calling robbers by their names was the most effective way to reach them. "What do you want?"

"We're robbing a bank! What do you think we want?"

"2.53 million dollars, exactly," Mike specified.

Felicity felt Oliver getting tense at her side. His mind was in full swing, and she wished she knew what he was thinking.

"That's a curious amount," Lance said. As he didn't receive an answer, he kept talking.

"Tell me Henry, what will you do when you have the money? How do you plan to get out of there? The building is surrounded by the police."

"You're going to get us out of here."

"Me?"

"Yes, you'll get us an armored van. You have one hour."

"I can bring the van, but my superiors will ask for something in return. Let the hostages leave."

"Do you think I'm stupid? They are not going anywhere."

"Listen, I need you to show me a sign of good faith. If not, my superiors won't let me negotiate with you. At least let the women and children leave."

"I said _no_, and I will _not_ change my mind. You have half an hour to get the van being in its way or I'll start killing people," he threatened before hanging up.

He had no intention to carry out the threat, but the police didn't know it.

"Excuse me," the cashier said hesitantly. "It's impossible to get that amount of money here."

Everyone could see Henry's anger when he heard that.

"What did you say?"

Before the cashier could repeat herself, his younger brother began yelling at him. "You told me that with this robbery we would get the money! You lied to me!"

"Mike, listen to me. We'll get the money and we'll get out of here. Everything will be fine, but I need you to calm down. Okay?"

"The money is not for yourselves, is it?" Oliver asked, making everyone look at him.

"If I were you, I'd shut up."

"What will you do? Are you going to kill me? Come on, we both know that you won't. If you do, you never will get out of here, and there is someone waiting for both of you on the outside. Am I wrong?"

"You think you're pretty smart, don't you? But you're right; I won't kill you. But I can't assure you the same about your Blondie."

Oliver tightened his grip on Felicity, as she did her best to hide how much that comment frightened her.

"Come on, what else could you be doing here? Obviously you were accompanying someone, and due to the way she gasped when you were kicked and looking at the way you're holding her hand, I have no doubt that you came with her. I may not want to kill you, but I can take her with us in the armored van, so if I were you, I'd shut up right now."

Oliver clenched his jaw but said nothing; he'd never expected his comment would cause Felicity to become a target. Feeling victorious, Henry turned to the cashier.

"Explain what you meant when you said that we can't get the money."

"Our clients don't need a lot of cash, so we don't have that amount here. Even if I give you all we have here, it won't be enough."

"Yeah, of course... But tell me, what about the safe that's hidden in the basement?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know there's a safe, so don't you dare deny it."

"But ... how did you know?" The cashier asked surprised.

"I didn't know. It was just a guess..."

"But you just confirmed it, babe," Mike added.

"Anyway, there's only one person who can open it, and he's not here."

"The bank manager? Don't worry; I'm sure our friend the policeman can bring him."

Felicity listened to the conversation attentively. When she chose to keep her money in this bank she had thoroughly studied it, going a little further than just Googling it. So she knew where the safe was hidden and that only the bank manager knew the password, so he was the only one who could open it. Well... that wasn't quite true.

She didn't have the fighting skills of Oliver or Dig, but she _was_ an IT genius, and she wouldn't allow the police to bring the bank manager into harm's way. There were already too many hostages there.

She squeezed Oliver's hand slightly to get his attention, and when their eyes met she whispered:

"My life. My choice."

"What?" he answered with a frown.

She took a deep breath, released Oliver's hand and took a step forward.

"There is another way."

The robbers looked at her surprised.

"Felicity."

She ignored him. She had heard him saying her name in a thousand different ways. He varied his tone to express all that he wasn't able to put in words, and she did understand. She always did. This time also. There was surprise and anger; even some pride for her bravery. But mostly there was fear. They both knew she was getting into the lion's den, and this time The Arrow couldn't come to her aid. But there could be no turning back now.

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to leave me reviews so I'll know what you think. Thank you very much!


	5. Sometimes You Can Only Watch

**A/N:**Hey guys! I want to thank you for all the reviews and new favorites and follows. Your support means a lot to me and encourages me to write more and more.

I didn't answer the guests until now because... I actually don't know why. But I think it's time to change that, so here we go:

Amber: Thank you very much for your comment. It means a lot to me. I'm glad you like it (the twist, I mean). The truth is that on the show Felicity stays mostly in the lair, and when she goes into the field, she is the damsel in distress and gets hurt or someone (Oliver, Dig... it doesn't matter) has to save her. Sooo… I wanted her to be the "hero" this time ;-)

In the last chapter, I forgot to mention my beta... It won't happen again. You work very hard to help me, **luvtheheaven**, and I want everyone to know it. After all, if I can share this fic, it's because of you and your amazing betaing-work.

I was thinking that we have been in the bank for a while now, so what do you think if we see what's going on outside? But don't worry! That doesn't mean that we won't find out what happens to Felicity.

Enjoy reading!

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

* * *

**Chapter 5. Sometimes You Can Only Watch**

In the temporary "base of operations" that had been set up outside the bank, Lance hung up and turned to Smith, the Head of Hostage Negotiations.

"We won't bring them a van."

"What about the hostages, Smith? He threatened to shoot the hostages. It could be a bluff, but we can't take that risk."

"We have the only exit controlled and there are snipers on surrounding buildings. You're going to call back in fifteen minutes, and if they don't agree to release at least some hostages, we're going to prepare the tactical attack."

Before Lance could complain about that, a woman who was sitting in front of some computers interrupted them. It was one of the Police Department's IT specialists.

"Excuse me, but the bank's security company has already sent us the images from the surveillance cameras, so now we can see what's happening inside, although we have no audio."

Both men approached the woman and watched the screens. Diggle, who had been with Lance since he arrived, followed them. It was Lance who broke the silence.

"They have all the hostages against the windows, so forget about the snipers."

"And forcible entry is discarded too, for now," Smith admitted reluctantly.

"So what now?" This time it was Diggle who spoke.

"Then we get an armored van within half an hour," Lance stated, looking defiantly at Smith.

The other man held his gaze for a few seconds, but eventually gave up.

"Okay, I'll take care of that." And with that, he left the base.

Lance turned to Diggle and asked, "Did you call Miss Queen?"

"No. She has already been through too much. With her mother in jail, her brother is all she has right now. Besides, Mr. Queen wouldn't want to worry her unnecessarily."

"Unnecessarily? You really think they aren't dangerous?"

"No, I don't, Officer Lance. Taking into account what Oliver told me, it seems that they have no intention of hurting anyone. They probably just felt cornered and it made them nervous. But if we give them what they asked for, I think there won't be any problems."

Lance nodded and picked up the phone to talk to the kidnappers and inform them that they'll soon have the armored van.

"Wait!" Diggle screamed.

Lance stopped dialing and looked at Diggle with a raised eyebrow.

"The robbers... They are talking to Mr. Queen," he said, pointing to one of the screens.

"Yes, and they don't seem very happy."

They saw how Oliver went from having a half smile to clenching his jaw hard. Diggle knew it could only be due to one thing, and the way he took Felicity's hand, as if he was afraid that she would disappear right then, told Diggle that he was right.

"Oliver must have bothered them and now they are threatening Miss Smoak."

"What? How do you know that? Well, never mind." _Something tells me he knows what he's talking about. _

After that, they saw Henry speaking to the cashier. Lance did a mental review of what he had to say to the robbers before he picked up the phone again to call them. But once again, he stopped dialing when he saw Felicity stepping forward, calling the attention of the robbers and the rest of hostages.

"What the hell is she doing?"

It was Lance's voice, but he had said aloud exactly the same thing that Diggle was thinking. Then, Smith came into the area and saw their faces of confusion, so he also looked at the screen to try to discover what was happening.

Felicity was talking to Henry, but about what they had no idea; it looked like she was trying to convince him to make a deal or something. Her determined gaze and chin being held up proved that she didn't regret what she was doing, although her shaking hands revealed that she was actually pretty nervous.

Lance left the phone on the table. While the robbers were speaking with one of the hostages, especially with Felicity, he wouldn't call them. That could trigger a response that he didn't want. They had already found out that Mike could get rattled easily.

After a few minutes that seemed like hours, Henry turned to his brother, said something to him and then beckoned to Felicity, who started walking with the older brother behind her.

In the operations base, they followed her through the different security cameras and saw Henry and Felicity going downstairs.

"What's down there?" Smith asked.

"There's a room full of office supplies..." the woman began to answer, as she tried to research the facts about that room as quickly as she could. "No, wait, there's also a safe, but it isn't public knowledge and it seems that the only way to access it is with a password that only the bank manager knows."

"Then, why he's going down there with _her_?" Smith asked, not comprehending.

Lance and Diggle swallowed hard. They were the only ones who knew about Felicity's skills, and they guessed it had something to do with that.

"The manager isn't in the bank," the woman said as the picture of a man appeared on one of the screens. "This is the manager, and he isn't one of the hostages. For whatever reason, today he isn't at the bank."

"But that still doesn't explain why this woman is going downstairs."

Lance and Diggle kept silent for the moment. Neither of them wanted to admit that they knew why. They were sure that if they were right, the others wouldn't have to wait long to find out.

Felicity and Henry moved between shelves until they were at the back of the room. There was only one camera, and although the angle was perfect, it was quite far from where they were, so the video quality was worse. Still, they saw Henry moving some boxes. Then, Felicity approached the wall, as if she was observing something carefully. She said something to the robber, and after that, she pulled her tablet from her purse and sat down. It was then that they saw the little device on the wall.

"She's going to open the safe," Lance stated.

"What? How?" Smith asked, more surprised by the confidence in Lance's voice than by what he said.

"By hacking it."

Smith was going to ask something else, but at that moment, Lance' phone beeped.

"It's her."

All eyes were on him.

"It's a message from Miss Smoak." He read it and then handed the phone to the woman. "Connect it to the computer and turn on the speakers."

She obeyed without questioning anything, though her face had quite the "questioning" expression. Then she spoke.

"Miss… Smoak, did you say her name was? She just provided us the audio we didn't have until now."

It was true. Felicity's voice filled the room, and both Diggle and Lance felt relieved when they heard her.

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thank you for reading! I'll be very grateful if you leave me reviews, because I would like to know what you think. Thanks!


	6. Half-Truths

**A/N: **Hey guys! First of all, I want to thank you for all the reviews and new favorites and follows. You are the best! And thanks also to my beta; I don't know what I would do without you, **luvtheheaven**!

Have you guys watched any of her fanvids? They're great; her latest one "Queen Family Tribute" is really amazing. I recommend you to watch it. You won't regret it. Look for "_Arrow: Oliver/Moira/Thea - Queen Family Tribute_" – you can just type "moira oliver thea name" in the youtube search box (no quotation marks) and it should come up. ;-)

As in the last chapter, I want to reply to the guests:

Guest: Thank you very much for your comment! At first, I read your "we" and I thought you made a little mistake, but when I read that you and your mom are enjoying this… Wow! I'm still shocked and very-very pleased.

Guest: Thank you very much for your comment! Felicity will be safe, don't worry. I'm not planning to hurt her (at least not physically). I can't say the same about Oliver. But you already know that if you read the first chapter. ;-)

Amber: Thank you very much for your comment! You posed a lot of questions... I can't answer all of them, because I don't want to spoil the next chapters, beginning with this one below (which, by the way, has been written from Oliver's POV).

Guest: Thank you very much for your comment! The new chapter is already here. I hope you like it.

I'd say that I'm sorry for the end of the chapter... But it would be a lie. As a friend told me once, fanfiction writers can be very evil. =P

I don't want to make you wait any longer, so here is the sixth chapter. Things start to get a little intense... Enjoy it! You also might want to remember, this fic takes place sometime after 2x02 of the show.

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

* * *

**Chapter 6. Half-Truths**

"Anyway, there's only one person who can open it, and he's not here."

"The bank manager? Don't worry; I'm sure our friend the policeman can bring him."

Oliver was listening carefully when he felt Felicity squeezing his hand slightly. He looked at her and saw that she already was looking at him. Then she whispered:

"My life. My choice."

"What?" he answered with a frown.

He didn't know what she was planning, but he was sure that whatever it was, it was a bad idea. She wasn't oblivious to the fact that Oliver wouldn't approve; he could tell that by way she was looking at him. Then, she released Oliver's hand and took a step forward.

The robbers looked at her with surprise.

Oliver couldn't believe what he'd now figured out Felicity was going to do, and at the same time, he knew that she was just acting like the amazing and selfless woman she was. She always thought of others before herself and this time would be no different. She didn't know if the police would allow the bank manager become a hostage too, but if she could do something to avoid that situation, she would do it, even if it was by using her hacking skills.

He knew that she was going to ignore him, but still he called out her name.

"Felicity!"

There was shock and anger in his voice, and even some pride for her bravery. But mostly there was fear. They both knew she was getting into the lion's den, and this time The Arrow couldn't come to her aid. But there could be no turning back now.

Oliver didn't want Felicity to leave him; he wanted her safe, wrapped in his arms. But he knew he couldn't do that, so he clenched his fists and remained as calm as he could for Felicity's sake.

"What did you say?"

"I said that there's another option. You don't have to bring the bank manager here. It isn't necessary. I can open the safe."

He mocked her.

"Are you kidding me? What could a mere secretary like you do?"

Felicity pursed her lips at that.

"Firstly, no, I'm not kidding; I'm completely serious. And secondly, I am an _Executive Assistant_, not a secretary! There's a _big_ differ—. Wait! How do you know what my job is? Never mind. Will you let me open the safe for you or not?"

Oliver held back a smile. That was the remarkable Felicity Smoak: indignant when she was underestimated and always rambling at the most inopportune moments.

"Assuming you're telling the truth, how will you open it?"

"Well... Let's say I have some... eh... IT skills which might disagree with a few laws..."

"Are you saying that you are a hacker?"

"Of course not! That's such an ugly word... I would define myself more like an IT genius with incredibly good skills in decoding."

Henry observed her silently, as if he was considering her offer. Then, he turned to his brother.

"I'll go downstairs with her to see what she can do. You stay here watching. If the phone rings, don't answer. Just let me know and I'll come back to pick it up."

Mike nodded and Henry made a gesture to Felicity. She started walking, followed by the older brother.

Oliver saw her walking away slowly. He wished with all his might that she would turn back and give him one of her bright smiles, but she didn't. When Henry and Felicity disappeared downstairs, Oliver looked at Mike. He seemed much calmer than a few minutes ago. Oliver didn't know if it was because he'd now forgotten that he had used his gun or because he wasn't under the supervision of his brother, but Oliver knew that if he wanted to try to do something, it must be now.

Without wasting a second, Oliver asked, "Why did you demand that specific amount? Did you lose a bet? Are they going to take away your house? Who do you owe money to? Who do you have to settle a score with?"

"Be quiet, Queen!"

Oliver persisted, hoping if he remained calm and reasonable that Mike wouldn't be able to resist answering.

"You owe money to someone important, I understand..."

"I said shut up!"

"…that you got mixed with the wrong people. What did they threaten you with?" Oliver felt like it was important to try and get as much information as he could.

Mike walked over to Oliver, aiming at his head. Mike had lost all of his composure, but Oliver was already beginning to get answers. By the way he was reacting, Oliver knew that they owed money to someone dangerous, and besides that, he was pretty sure that someone related to them had been kidnapped.

"Is it your sister?" After a small pause, Oliver asked, "Your wife?"

When Mike hit Oliver's jaw with the gun, Oliver groaned in pain and dropped to his knees. He had seen the blow coming, so he could have avoided the blow, but he didn't want to reveal his skills. A trickle of blood flowed from the cut on his right cheek.

"So they kidnapped your wife," Oliver continued, pressing him.

"Shut up if you don't want to know how it feels to get shot!"

_I wish I didn't already know how that feels,_ Oliver thought bitterly. Of course he couldn't say that aloud, though; it would raise a lot of questions that he didn't want to answer. But he could try to empathize with Mike, so he said, "I know what you're going through."

"You have no idea! You don't know what it's like to lose people you love! You can't even imagine how it feels when your wife is kidnapped and it's your own fault." His voice broke at the end.

Oliver hung his head and sighed deeply. He saw images of all his loved ones who had been injured or killed over the years. His sorrow could be heard in his voice when he began to speak.

"I know that feeling far better than you can imagine. When the ship I was on sank, I saw my friend disappear under water. She was on the boat with me. If I hadn't asked her to come with me, she would be alive. I also lost my father that night."

Oliver never thought he would open up and talk about all that, much less with a robber in a bank full of hostages, where everyone was listening to what he was saying. But despite how hard it was for him, he knew that it was the only way to reach Mike. And while he was changing some details, the baseline was real, as were his emotions. He got up slowly as he continued talking.

"I spent five years on an island until some fishermen rescued me. When I returned, nothing was the same. Five years is a long time.

"Not long ago, my sister was kidnapped by someone who was trying to make me pay for my mother's involvement in the earthquake that devastated the Glades, even though I know she was forced into doing it by Malcolm Merlyn. Five-hundred and three people died that night. One of them was my best friend. My relationship with my mother will never been the same.

"So yeah... I know what it's like to lose someone. I know what it's like to see someone you love being taken away because of you. I know the fear, the despair, the helplessness... I know the guilt." Oliver stepped forward to be right in front of Mike. "I know how you feel. I know you're scared, but let me help you. Free the other hostages. I'll stay. I know you want to save your wife, Mike, but if you continue like this, the police won't let you make it out of here alive. You don't want to hurt anyone, I know that. Give me the gun."

Mike said nothing, but his face showed his inner battle. He didn't know if he should believe what Oliver had just said. He couldn't know if it was true or if Oliver was trying to manipulate him, but it certainly sounded reasonable. It was likely that the police would shoot him and his brother in the head as soon as they could.

Mike looked down at his gun. Oliver was about to take it. Despite the fact that Mike knew that Henry wouldn't agree with it, he seemed to be deciding that he needed to put his trust in Oliver. Mike had been so easy to convince that Oliver couldn't believe it. After that, Oliver was sure that disarming Henry would be a walk in the park. Oliver couldn't have been more wrong.

"What the hell are you doing, Mike?!"

Henry's cry broke the spell. Mike's gaze went from calm to absolute fury. There was a quick hand movement, a scuffle... The hostages screamed, and Henry screamed too. When a shot echoed in the room, time seemed to stop. Silence fell, and no one dared to move. Finally, a grunt of pain brought all of them out of their stupor.

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to leave me reviews so that I'll know what you think. Thank you very much!

Also, if any of you are interested, I have a fic called _The Power of Words _which is a series of unrelated oneshots – I just posted chapter 3. I'd really appreciate getting a review or another story follower over there, while you're waiting for me to post chapter 7 of this fic! (También lo tenéis en castellano, "El poder de las palabras")

Por último, pero no por ello menos importante, me gustaría comentaros que ElectricalMarauder ha creado un foro de Arrow en castellano para hablar de la serie, sus personajes… También hay retos de escritura de fics (el primero ya está en marcha), juegos… ¡Pasaos si tenéis un ratito! ;-)

Os espero allí! Por cierto, si ponéis en Google "Historias de Starling City" (con comillas y todo) os sale, que ya sabéis que FF no permite poner links.


	7. This Is Not a Movie

**A/N:**First of all... Wow! Just WOW! More than 200 followers already... And so many favorites and the amount of reviews... I can't believe it. I'm so happy and excited and extremely overwhelmed! I can't put into words how I feel and what your incredible support means to me.

When I started writing this, I did it hoping someone would enjoy it, but even in my sweetest dreams I could never imagine this response at all.

And somehow, it makes me feel bad. Not your support, of course; but for the fact that I think I'm not able to thank you enough, that I can't find the right words, and that it seems to me that everything I could possibly say wouldn't be enough.

But seriously, I'm incredibly grateful.

Having said all that, I think I should apologize for this chapter.

It's from Felicity's POV and the truth is that it was fun to write, because here she's so... so Felicity, with her ramblings, and her innocence, and her spontaneity... But I have to apologize because -thanks to your reviews and PM's- I know you're eager to know what happens next, and well... You won't find out yet; because this chapter happens in the same time period than the previous one, and it ends almost at the same point. So yeah, sorry for that, but I think it's important for you to know what happens between Henry and Felicity so that you could understand some future things I have planned for this fic.

From here, I want to express my sincere respect for the fantastic fanfic writers who are able to update their fics almost every day. I really admire you. I wish I could do the same, but I just can't.

As some of you know, writing takes time. My chapters are short (yeah I'm aware of that, but it's my writing style, so I can't nor do I want to change it), and I usually write them in less than an hour, but then I need much more time for the tedious translation work. They're originally written in Spanish and then I work hard to translate them into English for you all, which is somewhat difficult seeing as it's not my native language. And then I have to steal time from my beta (**luvtheheaven**, you know how much I appreciate your help and support) so she can help me to fix it and make it better and understandable to all you.

Plus, there's the real life, which sometimes is less interesting than fanfiction-world. lol. I'm actually about to get my college degree, and for that, I have to finish my thesis by the first week of July. So, as you can imagine, I don't have a lot of free time, and the little I have, I use to read and write fanfics.

That's why I post only once a week. I know you haven't asked for an explanation, but given your continued support and your always kind words, I wanted to say that I really wish I could give you back all that in the form of more frequent updates. But as I said before, I just can't. Sorry.

_But_… This time I'll make an exception, and I'll post another chapter too. So yeah! You get two chapters in a day. This is because of two main reasons. Firstly, I wanted to do something to thank you for all the followers. And secondly, because when I was talking with my beta I realized that posting only this chapter would be very mean.

I hope you'll appreciate the effort that both luvtheheaven and I made so you can enjoy these two chapters at once.

Okay, I think it's time to answer a few of the guests.

But first, I have a question... Have you ever thought about creating an account? You know, it has some advantages. ;-) Thank you very much to all of you!

First Guest for Chapter 6: I have a lot I'd like to say to your review (which I appreciate was tactful despite being negative) but since you didn't log-in to an account and I can't reply to you directly, I'm gonna try to keep this short here.

The only things I will mention are:

I tried to make it clear from the very beginning and in my author's note what this fic will be, and you didn't have to read it.

I obviously don't want to go OOC so I paid attention to what Oliver did in Queen Consolidated in 2x01 when the masked men broke in. He was trying to protect his secret identity then, too, and in that situation he didn't show off any of his fighting skills, so I figured he'd do the same thing now.

Laura: I wanted her to be the hero this time, and what better way than using her amazing skills? I'm glad you liked it.

Rane: I know, but I love cliffhangers so much… I made a friend in another forum, and when she had barely read three or four chapters of mine, she decided to call me "Queen of Cliffhangers". Just saying... lol. Thank you for your kind words, they made me very happy.

One more time, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the reviews, favorite and follows, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! And I am sorry that the A/N is so long, but I felt the need to express all of this to all of you.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

* * *

**Chapter 7. This Is Not a Movie**

When Henry gestured, Felicity walked towards the stairs with him at her back. She knew that Oliver had his gaze on her. She happily would have given him a reassuring smile, but she feared that if she turned around, she wouldn't be able to leave him.

They went downstairs in silence as Felicity tried to remember everything she knew about the safe. They went through a short corridor and entered a large room. They maneuvered around shelves until they were at the back of the room.

"The door is right there," she said, pointing at the carefully stacked boxes.

Henry looked at Felicity menacingly, as if he was challenging her to try to do some trick while he moved the boxes aside, revealing a small device. Felicity observed it in silence.

Then she turned to Henry and said, "I need to get my tablet from my purse."

She waited a little bit, in case Henry would say something, but as he didn't, Felicity took out the tablet with a shrug. Then, she sat on the floor with her back against the wall, and started working.

"I don't want any tricks."

"Trick? What trick?" she asked, playing dumb.

"I meant things like pulling the fire alarm or using your tablet right now to call the police, for example."

"I think you've seen too many movies. No offense," she said, blushing.

"So you're saying you're not capable of those things?"

"Of course I'm capable! But it would be pointless, as the police are already aware of the situation, and I value my life too much to try anything. Not that my life is perfect, but I have a good job, some great friends and... I'll shut up and focus on open the safe."

Henry looked at her curiously. Felicity was telling him all that was going through her mind without worrying about the consequences.

Felicity knew that the security company had access to the bank's surveillance cameras, but the recordings had no audio, so that was the first thing she wanted to fix.

Fortunately, a while back she had created some programs and applications which were on her tablet now as an undetectable recording system that could send audio to any mobile phone. She knew that Lance would appreciate it, especially if she was able to get a nice confession out of Henry. So far, he didn't stop any of her ramblings, which indicated that he probably would be willing to have a conversation with her.

Felicity realized that she was right when he asked, "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to help us? Don't you fear that the police could think that you're our accomplice?"

"What?! An accomplice?! You're not serious, are you? I don't want go to jail; I don't belong there. I'm _not_ a criminal! Also, I'm not _helping_ you. You wanted to bring the bank manager in, and well, I don't think the police were going to agree to that. They would at the very least ask you for something in return, and I didn't know if you were going to be willing... So I preferred to avoid that situation.

"So, answering your question of why I'm doing this... I just want to avoid the manager being held hostage too. _Nothing_ _to do _with criminal activities, and I really hope the police will believe that, because I _don't_ want go to jail. I'm not going to go to jail, right?"

She knew she sounded like a child, but she knew the police were now listening and she hoped it would convince the police of her innocence.

Felicity wanted to change the subject and obtain Henry's confession, but she hesitated before asking, "And you? Why are you doing this?"

Her question surprised him.

"You're a pretty unusual girl, you know?"

"Yeah, well, I have always drawn attention, and not always in a positive way, but you didn't answer me. Why?"

"We need the money."

"Oh! _Really_? And I thought it was for fun," she answered wryly. For a second, it seemed that she was talking to a friend instead of to an armed robber.

"Let's say that my brother borrowed money from someone and now he has to return it." Henry didn't know why he was telling all of that to Felicity, but something about her made him confess. He didn't know if it was her sincerity, her courage or how she had faced him, but he couldn't help it. _This woman is definitely anything but normal._

"So he got caught up with the wrong people... What?" she asked when she saw his frown. "You're not the only one who watches movies, although lately I haven't been able to go to the theater at all.

"So… you thought you would rob the bank, pay back the money and go on as though nothing had happened, right? But things didn't go as they were planned. You have a handful of hostages and the police have the building surrounded. I think you're in _serious trouble_. You should surrender."

"Surrender?! Are you serious?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Because then we're going to go straight to jail, we will not be able to return the money and my—" Henry suddenly fell silent.

"There is something you're not telling me, right? Okay, if this was a movie... I'd say there'd been a kidnapping or something... Oh!" Felicity raised her hands to her mouth when she realized that she was right. Henry had grimaced when she mentioned the word 'kidnapping'. "Who is it?"

"My _pregnant_ sister-in-law. And thank God my brother still doesn't know."

"Listen. I understand your situation, I really do, but why don't you talk to the police? Explain to them what's happening; tell them about her. I'm sure they can do something."

More than the police, Felicity was thinking Oliver could help, but that was something she couldn't say aloud. She didn't know how many people were listening in addition to Lance, so she couldn't admit that she was helping the Arrow.

"They'll kill her."

Felicity bit her lower lip. She wanted to find a way to get Henry to surrender. She knew Oliver could save the woman that night, but to do that, they had to get out of there first.

When Felicity's tablet beeped, Henry asked, "What was that?"

"The decoder program is running. Now we just have to wait, and given the level of its security ... I think that the safe's door will open in about fifteen minutes. Maybe a little less."

"Fifteen minutes?!" Henry exclaimed.

"What do you want?! I only have my tablet! And this isn't a movie."

Felicity saw that with that last sentence the recent tension decreased. Henry's expression became a slight smile.

"Okay, let's go upstairs. It's been almost half an hour since I talked to the police, so probably they'll call again soon."

When they came back to the main hall, the image they found shocked both of them. Oliver and Mike were facing each other, only a few inches away. But the most surprising was that Oliver's hand was about to take the gun.

"What the hell are you doing, Mike?!"

Henry's cry broke the spell. There was a quick hand movement, a scuffle... The hostages screamed, and Henry screamed too. When a shot echoed in the room, time seemed to stop. Silence fell, and no one dared to move. Finally, a grunt of pain brought all of them out of their stupor.

"Oliver!"

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thank you for reading! I'll be very grateful if you leave me reviews, because I would like to know what you think. Thanks!


	8. There Is No Worse Feeling than Helpless-

**A/N:**Today I posted two chapters in a row, so please, make sure you have read the previous one ;-)

Enjoy reading!

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

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**Chapter 8. There Is No Worse Feeling than Helplessness**

From the base of operations, Felicity could be seen on camera, working on her tablet as she talked to Henry. Thanks to her, the team could also hear their conversation, discovering that the reason for the robbery was none other than to get the money they needed to rescue one of their wives.

The woman who was sitting in front of the computers began typing furiously.

"What are you doing, Emma?" Smith asked her.

"I'm trying to discover who the kidnapped woman is, who has taken her, and where they are. If we find her, maybe they'll surrender."

"Well… tell us if you find anything."

"Of course, sir."

Everyone then looked at Lance when he swore. "What the hell are you doing, Queen?"

When the others looked at the same screen as Lance, they understood his reaction. Mike had just hit Oliver with the gun, making a small cut on his cheek. But then Oliver got up and he was approaching Mike as he talked to him.

At that moment they heard a beep and then heard Henry asking, "What was that?"

"The decoder program is running. Now we just have to wait, and given the level of its security ... I think that the safe's door will open in about fifteen minutes. Maybe a little less."

"Fifteen minutes?!" Henry exclaimed.

"What do you want?! I only have my tablet! And this isn't a movie."

"Okay, let's go upstairs. It's been almost half an hour since I talked to the police, so they'll probably call again soon."

While they saw Henry and Felicity going upstairs, they also saw that Oliver was about to take Mike's gun.

"No, no, no..." Diggle muttered.

"Come on, Queen, hurry up!" Lance cheered, surprising himself and also the others; all of them were well aware of his poor relationship with the young man.

When Henry and Felicity came back to the main hall, Oliver still didn't have the gun. In the base of operations, the team saw Oliver and Mike struggling for a moment, while the faces of the hostages went from fear to terror. Felicity had to leave the tablet in the downstairs room, so they had no audio, and couldn't know what exactly was going on, but still, they could hear a gunshot. The next thing they saw was Oliver clutching at his abdomen and falling to his knees, and Felicity running beside him.

"Oliver." Diggle sighed, afflicted.

He felt bad for his friend. It seemed that the five years of hell that he spent on Lian Yu hadn't been enough. Back in Starling City he put his life in danger almost every night. Diggle had lost count of the times he had seen Oliver hurt. But this time he couldn't help; he had to settle for just being a witness to it.

Lance wasted no time and picked up the phone to call the robbers.

"I'm Officer Lance again. We heard a shot. What happened? Is anyone hurt?"

"The gun fired by accident, as a cop you know that sometimes it happens," Henry answered.

"Do you need medical care? I can send somebody."

"No! It's not necessary."

Lance looked at the others with wide eyes. All of them had the same question in mind. _Why was he saying they didn't need medical help in there?_

"Are you sure?"

"I said _no_. Where's my van? Is it ready?"

"Not yet; there has been a problem and it will take longer than we thought."

"You have half an hour," Henry said before hanging up.

"It's not necessary? Of course it's needed!" Dig shouted.

"Calm down, Mr. Diggle," Smith demanded.

"Calm down? They just shot Oliver! He has a bullet wound in the abdomen, and they're denying him the medical attention he needs. And you're asking me to calm down?"

Lance put his hand on Diggle's forearm and said softly, "Come with me for a moment, Mr. Diggle. Let's get out of here."

When Lance thought they were far enough from any person who could hear them, he said in a confident tone, "I know how you feel. I thought that you were just Oliver's bodyguard or driver, but now I can see that he's much more than just your employer. I know that you're worried about him, and that you feel totally powerless here, outside, unable to do anything to help him."

Diggle wanted to say something but Lance stopped him.

"Let me finish. I also noticed that you weren't surprised by Miss Smoak's technological skills, and although I admit that this shocked me, I'll pretend I haven't realized that and I'll let it go... for now. Anyway… listen carefully. I may not be Oliver's biggest fan, but I don't want him to die. I know you want the robbery to end soon, and I do too; but I need you to calm down, or Smith won't let you stand with us. Understood?"

Diggle nodded in silence. He'd lost his temper for a moment, which was strange for him, but he'd now recovered his composure and he wouldn't let it happen again.

After that, the two returned to the base of operations. Smith gave Diggle a look of disapproval, but Diggle just ignored it. He had more important things to think about.

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to leave me reviews so that I'll know what you think. Thank you very much!


	9. The Value of Time

**A/N:**Hi guys! Sorry for the delay.

As always, I want to thank you for all the reviews and new favorites and follows. Your support means a lot to me and encourages me to write more and more. And thanks also to my beta; your help is priceless,** luvtheheaven**!

Kat: Your comment made me smile, so thank you very much!

A brief note: This chapter refers to something specific which was shown in episode 2x04 to have happened to Oliver on the island, although this fic is set before that episode. I hope you all have seen through this episode, anyway, so it won't be a spoiler for anyone.

Here you have the ninth chapter. Enjoy it!

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

* * *

**Chapter 9. The Value of Time**

Oliver kept looking at Mike's eyes, even when Mike looked down toward the gun, watching that Oliver was about to take it. A few inches more and Oliver would have the gun.

From the corner of his eye, Oliver saw some movement, and a blonde ponytail caught his attention, which for a moment made him forget what he was doing.

A second later, Henry's cry broke the spell. "What the hell are you doing, Mike?!"

Oliver reacted quickly, but Mike's grip on the gun also hardened. The struggle lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like much longer. The hostages started screaming, and Henry screamed too, until the sound of a shot silenced everyone.

Oliver heard the gunshot. At first he wasn't sure who had fired it, or where the bullet had gone. But almost instantly, he felt as if fire had spread through his abdomen. Although he was all too familiar with pain, he couldn't help but let out a grunt. His hands reached for the wound instinctively, and within a few seconds, they were stained with warm blood. He fell to his knees, trying to take deep breaths. He could hear Mike at his side muttering apologies, saying that he hadn't wanted to shoot him, that it had been an accident and that he was sorry. Mike repeated it over and over again, as if he could undo the damage if he simply said it enough times, but Oliver ignored him. He also ignored the fact that the other hostages had begun to scream again. Before long, Henry silenced them.

He only paid attention to one thing: the voice of the blonde woman who shouted his name from across the room. A moment later, Felicity was at his side.

"Oh, Oliver," she whispered.

"I'm fine," he said in an attempt to calm her, even though he knew it would be useless.

He clenched his jaw tightly, and he realized that unlike other times when he'd been injured, this time he couldn't keep his breathing calm.

"I need you to check and see if there is an exit wound," Oliver asked, taking off his jacket with a great deal of difficulty.

He also lifted his shirt in order to see the severity of the wound, while Felicity was checking what had happened to the bullet. She didn't find an exit wound and when she was about to tell him that, she saw that he was still looking down. When she followed his glance and saw the wound that was bleeding profusely, she gasped.

"Oh my God, Oliver! Lie down, come on, lie down!"

He let out an almost inaudible grunt of pain when he moved so that he could lie back. Felicity grabbed his jacket and put pressure on the wound, making Oliver gasp.

"I'm sorry, Oliver, I'm so sorry, but we need to stop the bleeding," she said apologetically, knowing the pain she was causing him.

"What about the bullet, Felicity?"

"There's no exit wound. The bullet must still be inside. That's bad, isn't it?" Oliver just growled in response. "I'll take that as a yes."

Henry walked over to them.

"How's he doing?"

"Are you seriously asking that?! Your brother just shot him; how do you think he's doing?" Felicity screamed.

"I didn't want to! It was an accident," the younger brother defended himself, brokenly.

"Mike, don't worry, nothing will happen to you, okay?" Henry tried to calm down his brother. "I'll make sure of it."

His voice was muffled by the bank's phone ring. Henry picked it up and waited.

"I'm Officer Lance again. We heard a shot. What happened? Is anyone hurt?"

"The gun fired by accident; as a cop you know that sometimes it happens."

"Do you need medical care? I can send somebody."

"No! It's not necessary."

Felicity looked at him, shocked. _Why is he saying we don't need medical help?_

"Are you sure?"

"I said _no_. Where's my van? Is it ready?"

"Not yet; there has been a problem and it will take longer than we thought."

"You have half an hour," Henry said before hanging up.

Felicity couldn't contain herself, and glaring at him furiously, but without loosening the pressure on Oliver's wound, she snapped at him. "I thought you didn't want to hurt anyone!"

"We didn't."

"You're a _liar_!"

"Felicity, it's okay," a quiet voice piped in. It was Oliver who spoke. He doubted that angering the robbers would be helpful. "Mike was going to give me the gun. He was about to surrender. It was an accident."

"I don't care, Oliver. You're hurt, and you _need help_. He needs help!" she yelled again at Henry. "Why didn't you let them send in medical care?"

"And let an undercover cop inside? No, thank you."

"Again with the movie clichés?!"

"Maybe, but I'm not taking that risk. We didn't want to hurt anyone, and none of this should have happened. But we need the money, so if I have to deny your friend medical help in order to get out of here with what we came for, then _I will_."

"So you just are going to let him bleed out?! I didn't think you were a bad person, but I see I was very wrong. You're a monster!"

"Shut up!" Mike yelled.

"Felicity," Oliver called to her softly. "Felicity, look at me. Please."

She did as he asked. Although he hadn't groaned again, she could see that he was in a great deal of pain. His jaw was clenched, his forehead wrinkles were more noticeable than ever, and he was sweating a lot.

"Felicity, it's okay, I'll be fine."

"But you don't know that, Oliver," she answered fearfully as her eyes watered.

She wanted to be strong for him, so she blinked to keep the tears away. It wasn't the first time she'd had to deal with an injured Oliver, but they always had been able to go to the lair. But this time... She didn't know what would happen, and that scared her. Besides, Oliver never showed signs of pain, so the fact that this time she could see so easily how much he was suffering frightened her even more.

"Hey, trust me," Oliver assured her. "It's not as bad as it seems. The bullet didn't hit any major organs."

"You can't know that."

"Yes I can. If the bullet had pierced my liver, stomach, or intestines, for example, I would already have fainted; either from loss of blood, or from mass infection. So no, it's not so bad, although it hurts like hell."

In these moments, Oliver wasn't The Arrow. He just was Oliver Queen, and so he knew that he shouldn't hide his suffering. He neither wanted to try, because he knew that doing so would take a large amount of effort, and he needed to save his energy. . Besides, he thought that if Felicity could see that he was in pain, and that for once he wasn't trying to pretend otherwise, then hopefully she would also believe what Oliver had just told her. Felicity needed to remain calm and focused. Oliver needed it; he needed her to be his anchor, to help him through whatever might come next.

He knew that his injury was more serious than he'd said. Even if he was right and the bullet hadn't hit any organs, he had been shot and he was bleeding a lot. _Perhaps even more than we can see if I'm also bleeding internally. But we'll only be able to know that once we're in the hospital... and only if we ever get there, of course,_ Oliver thought bitterly, as it seemed that Henry wasn't very eager to let them free.

That was why he was so glad that Felicity was with him. He knew he was being selfish and he wasn't proud of it. Of course he wanted her to be somewhere safe, but the truth was that being with Felicity calmed him.

The previous time he'd gotten shot in the abdomen, he'd been locked in a cold and dirty cell. He had been shot in order to test his strength and courage. He'd had to remove the bullet and stitch the wound on his own. It wasn't a pleasant memory. He remembered the fear and the pain; but mostly, he remembered the humidity, the feeling of wet clothes sticking to his skin, the cold getting into his bones...

"Henry, please," Felicity begged. "He needs a hospital. _Please._"

The robber was staring at the floor, lost in his own thoughts, deciding what to do. He couldn't let anyone go into the bank, but at the same he didn't want to deal with a death. He checked his watch. It had been five minutes since Felicity had launched the decoder.

"Ten minutes," Henry said in a quiet voice.

"What?" Felicity asked, confused.

"In ten minutes the safe will open and we can get the money. Then, he'll be free to go to the hospital. But until then, _no one_ gets out of here."

Felicity nodded. The nightmare would end soon. She looked at Oliver once again, and what she saw scared her even more. He was pale, and she could see that his breathing was labored. She wanted to stroke his cheek to give him some comfort, but she couldn't move either one of her hands, as she knew it was important to keep compressing the wound.

"Did you hear that, Oliver? Ten minutes. And then you can go to the hospital."

He didn't answer. He seemed to be elsewhere, far away, and Felicity knew where he was.

"Oliver, do you hear me? You're _not_ alone, and you're _not_ in Lian Yu. Come back to me, Oliver. Come back to me."

But he was lost in his memories. He could see the bars of the cell and smell blood, his blood. He could feel the cold. He was alone. But actually he wasn't. A voice was repeating it over and over again, like a litany. He focused on the voice, on what it said, and he gradually left the memories behind and returned to the present. He focused on Felicity, on her voice, and on her eyes which were full of worry. And yet, the cold feeling didn't go away.

"Felicity," he whispered.

"I'm here, Oliver. I won't go anywhere," her voice was strong. _I promise Oliver. Whatever happens, I won't leave you._

Felicity sighed when she saw the corners of Oliver's mouth slightly rising. Her brain-mouth filter had failed again and she had also said the last part aloud.

"I know, Felicity."

She felt her heart warming a little with that statement. Oliver trusted her, she knew that; but there had been something else. Maybe it was because he was bleeding and she was scared, but it seemed to her that he meant more than he had actually said.

"Only ten minutes and then we can go to the hospital, Oliver."

She didn't realize that she'd said 'we' instead of 'you', but she wasn't going to leave him. She had promised it and he trusted her. She took a deep breath to calm down. She had read a lot about first aid since she'd joined Oliver, and now was the time to implement what she'd learned.

"How do you feel?"

"Cold."

Felicity pressed the wound harder. Feeling cold was one of the first symptoms of hypovolemic shock from too much blood loss. Soon would come the chills, the tachycardia, the disorientation...

She was scared. Visibly he hadn't lost so much blood, and that could only mean one thing: he was bleeding internally. When Henry had said "ten minutes" she'd felt relieved, but now she feared that would be too long to wait.

Felicity thought about everything Diggle had taught her. Oliver's life depended on her, so she would do everything she could to save him.

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thank you for reading! I'll be very grateful if you leave me reviews, because I would like to know what you think. Thanks!


	10. Mistaken Guilt

**A/N:**Hi guys. I'm sorry I couldn't update until now, but sometimes RL interferes too hard and I can't spend the time I would like to write fanfiction.

Once again, I want to thank you for all the reviews and new favorites and follows. And thanks also to my beta; **luvtheheaven**, only you know how much your support and help means to me.

Tori: I completely understand how you feel, even though I have a soft spot for Henry. Despite how he's acting, he's a good person. I think. =P

A brief note: I'm going to bring up _Sophie_ from chapter 2 again in this chapter. I'm mentioning this just in case you don't remember her and you would like to revisit that chapter.

Enjoy the reading!

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

* * *

**Chapter 10. Mistaken Guilt**

Henry looked at his brother. Mike was very nervous, especially now that he'd shot Oliver Queen. Despite Felicity's efforts, his blood was seeping through the jacket with which she was pressing the wound, creating a puddle on the floor. _Hang in there, man. My brother won't get over it if you die. _Henry checked his watch. It had only been six minutes. _Why does time pass so slowly? _he he looked at the hostages. They were very scared, but he knew that was normal. They were being held by who they considered to be two crazy armed men, and a fellow hostage was bleeding out. Henry knew that if he was in their situation, he also would be scared. It was then that he first saw one of them: a little boy. His hand was holding his mother's hand so tightly that his knuckles were white. Tears were streaming down his face profusely. That sight made something stir in him, and Henry wondered if maybe it was time to do something good.

Henry knelt before him and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

The boy nodded and looked at his mother for approval. She gave him a watery smile.

Henry got up and went to talk to his brother. They spoke low enough so that no one else could hear them, and then Henry made his announcement with his gaze fixed on the kid's mother.

"Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once. We don't want anyone else getting hurt, and as a gesture of good faith we're going to release some of you."

Henry knelt beside the kid and told him, "You're going to get out of here now, okay?"

"And my mom?" the boy asked, still with teary eyes.

He couldn't say no. Not after all he had put the kid through.

"Yes, your mom too. And take that old couple with you," he added, looking at the kid's mother as he gestured toward the couple to which he was referring. "Come on, hurry!"

The mother took her son in her arms and saw that the elderly man was using a cane to walk; so she waited beside the door until the couple was beside her before leaving the bank. When they opened the door, everyone inside the bank could hear cop's screams ordering not to fire, but when the door closed, they were isolated from the noise again.

Henry then approached Felicity. He saw that the jacket with which she was trying to plug the wound was completely soaked, so he took off his own shirt and offered it to her, leaving him wearing just his tank top.

She was so concerned about the billionaire that she didn't even notice him doing this from a foot away, so Henry crouched beside her and placed the shirt on her hands. At first she startled, but she quickly realized what he wanted.

"Thank you," she muttered.

She pulled out her hands from between the two garments before again putting pressure on the wound, her hands now on top of the new shirt. This caused a grunt of pain from Oliver. She felt guilty about it, but it was necessary.

"Hey Oliver, it will be over soon. Just hang in there a bit longer, okay?"

"Felicity?" he said, shakily.

"Yeah?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine, but you will be. As soon as the safe's door is open and they have the money, they'll free us."

"Felicity."

"Mm hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? I don't understand."

"For this situation. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened."

"Oliver, you can't be serious. I know you have a tendency to blame yourself for everything bad that happens around you, but this?"

"If I hadn't come, Diggle wouldn't have called me in the middle of the robbery, the woman wouldn't have screamed and Mike wouldn't have fired, so the building wouldn't be surrounded by police." Oliver's voice grew weaker as he spoke so he stopped to catch his breath, so that he'd be able to finish his explanation. "If I hadn't come, the robbers would have gotten the money and would already have been gone."

"You are completely wrong. If you hadn't come, I would have been so scared during the robbery that I wouldn't have been able to help Sophie, the robbers would have gotten very anxious, Mike would have shot anyway, and the building would be surrounded by police with the difference that I would be alone and very frightened, so I wouldn't have been able to offer to open the safe, and therefore they would have had to bring in the bank manager." Felicity then lowered her voice so much that Oliver had to strain to hear her. "Plus, the police wouldn't have known why they are doing this."

"What did you say?" he asked, thinking he had misunderstood her.

Felicity looked back at Henry and Mike, making sure that neither of them was paying attention to her conversation with Oliver. They weren't, so Felicity explained what she had done very quietly so that no one but Oliver could hear her. "Yeah, well... Let's say that Detective Lance received an audio gift when I was working on the safe."

"You're remarkable."

Felicity blushed; she couldn't help it. That phrase had a special meaning for her since the first time Oliver had said it.

"So don't ever say this is your fault, because if you hadn't been here the situation would be worse, although you've been shot, and that's obviously bad, and if you hadn't been here you wouldn't have gotten shot... So I don't know if I should be glad you're here... You probably think I'm a bad person for being glad, don't you?"

Oliver found the situation curious. Both were glad to be in the company of the other, and both felt guilty about it.

Felicity was waiting for Oliver's reassurance that she wasn't a bad person, but as it didn't come, she thought that Oliver preferred to stay silent rather than give her an answer she wouldn't want to hear.

"Oh, God, you're right! How can I be glad about this? I must be the meanest person that's ever existed. Even worse than Snow White's stepmother!"

Oliver chuckled at her comment, but it became a coughing fit that made his whole body shake. The sudden movement triggered a new and intense wave of pain through his body, making him gasp and close his eyes.

Felicity gently pushed his shoulder to make him lie down again, still pressing the wound with the other hand. Oliver became increasingly pale and sweaty. Moving her fingers to his neck, she checked his pulse. It was quick and weak and Felicity worried even more. She'd expected these symptoms; she just didn't expect them so soon. This was why she was now thinking that an organ must have been affected. That, or the internal bleeding was extreme. _Oliver, please... Hold on, just a little longer..._ She wanted to ask Henry, to beg him if necessary, to let Oliver out, or at least to allow someone from the outside to give him medical assistance.

Felicity looked at Henry. He was talking on the phone, she assumed with Lance. She had been so focused on Oliver that she hadn't even heard the phone. She looked back at Oliver, who still had his eyes closed.

"Oliver, do you hear me? You have to open your eyes. I need you to stay with me."

He obeyed and fixed his gaze on her blue eyes.

"You're doing great, Oliver. Stay awake, okay? You can do it. I know you can."

* * *

**A/N 2:**Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to leave me reviews so that I'll know what you think. Thank you very much!


	11. You Don't Want His Death

**A/N:**Hey guys! How are you doing? First of all, I want to thank you for all the reviews and new favorites and follows. Your support means a lot to me. And thanks also to my beta; you're awesome, **luvtheheaven**!

This chapter is short. The next chapters are short too. I _know_. But we're getting to the climax of the robbery, and _I need_ to show you how all of them are doing. There are a lot of things happening at the same time. What happens in the bank is connected with what happens outside the bank. _I need_ to show you this connection and its repercussion.

I know some of you will want to complain about the length of these chapters; but I would appreciate it if you could try to understand me (and my reasons) and if you would not be mad at me.

That said, don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

* * *

**Chapter 11. You Don't Want His Death**

When Diggle and Lance returned to the base of operations, they looked at the screens again. They didn't have audio anymore, since Felicity's tablet was in the basement, but at least they could see what was happening inside the bank.

They saw that Henry crouched in front of a little boy who was very frightened. Then he got up and spoke to Mike. Not long after, they saw the child and a woman who had to be his mother, and an elderly couple walking towards the door.

"Are the robbers letting them leave the bank?" Lance asked in disbelief.

"I can't believe that they're actually releasing hostages," Diggle added in the same tone.

They quickly left the base, Smith shouting orders not to fire, explaining that some hostages were about to be freed.

When the hostages were out, several cops reached them and brought them to the ambulances. Although they didn't have any physical injuries, it was likely that they were in psychological shock and that they would need some kind of sedative.

Lance approached the young mother, followed by Diggle, and he asked the paramedics if she would be able to talk.

"Yes, of course. But don't push her too much. She's still scared."

"Miss..."

"Samantha Moore."

"Miss Moore."

"Sam."

"Ok, Sam then. Tell me, are you hurt?"

"No, I've already told them. I'm fine. I just want to go home with my kid and forget this nightmare."

"I understand, but I need to ask you some questions. Do you think that you could answer me?"

She shrugged in response.

"Tell me, there is an injured man, right?"

"Yeah, Oliver Queen. He was shot in the stomach and was bleeding a lot, and a girl went over to help him, but it's useless; he's bleeding too much already!"

"Hey, Sam it's okay," Lance tried to calm her down as he saw that she was getting very upset.

"Ten minutes!" she shouted suddenly.

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"It's what one of the robbers said, that in ten minutes they will have the money they need and that then they'll let him out."

Lance heard Diggle letting out a deep sigh. That was good news.

"Did they say anything else? Something about how they would get out or where they will go?"

"Mmm... No, they didn't ... All they said is that they're doing this because they need the money. Before Oliver Queen was shot he got one of them to explain their reasons. They need the money to pay a ransom or something like that... I don't know, I'm not sure ... I wasn't paying attention; I was more concerned about my child."

"It's okay, Sam. You've helped us a lot. Thank you very much."

Then, Lance turned to the paramedics.

"In about five minutes the robbers will free Mr. Queen. We only know that he has a bullet wound in the abdominal area. You need to be ready to help him by then."

"Of course, Officer."

Lance returned to the base of operations and Diggle followed him. It was time to make another call. They didn't answer until the fourth tone.

"Henry, I'm the detective, Lance, again. Thanks for releasing those hostages."

"It was an incentive for you to bring us the damn van."

"We know that one of the hostages was shot. How is he?"

"Alive."

Diggle clenched his fists. With every word out of Henry's mouth, it was like he was being kicked in the gut.

"That's not enough information for me."

"He has a gunshot wound to the abdomen."

"How bad is it?"

"I don't know... The bleeding hasn't stopped, but he's still conscious."

"I'll send the paramedics."

"Don't you dare!"

"Listen, Henry. I know you didn't_ want_ anybody to get hurt, and I know that you don't_ want_ his death. But a wound in the abdominal area is very serious. There are many organs and arteries that may be damaged; if he doesn't get medical attention soon, his chances of bleeding out are _really _high. Do you want to be the responsible for his death? I know you're_ not_ a killer, but Mike and you will spend the rest of your life in jail if you let him die. You will be charged with murder, Henry. _Murder_."

"I won't let anybody in, Officer. I don't trust the police. I know how these things work; you'll send a cop disguised as a paramedic. No thanks. Bring the van and _then_ I'll let him free so that you can take him to the hospital."

"He may not have that long."

"Then you should hurry. I want the van now! If Queen dies, it will be only _your _fault."

Lance let out a sigh when he realized that Henry had hung up.

"And what about the ten minutes? Was it a bluff?" Diggle asked, worried.

"I don't know," Lance answered. "But we need to bring the van, Smith. If that's what he needs in order to release Queen, we must give it to him. Put a tracker on it, puncture the wheels, do whatever you want, but bring the goddamn van right now!"

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**A/N 2:**Thank you for reading! I'll be very grateful if you leave me reviews, because I would like to know what you think. Thanks!

I've been thinking, and I decided to reply to the guests for the previous chapter at the end of the new chapters now. I think this way will be better for the rest of readers.

By the way, I want to thank you for leaving a review even you don't have an account. It means a lot to me, and the truth is that it's a pity that I can't reply personally to you. Someday, maybe...

First guest who reviewed chapter 10: Thank you very much! You're absolutely right; they don't get that... _yet_.

Second guest: Cliffhanger? It could have been worse. At least Oliver opened his eyes. ;-)


	12. Sara

**A/N:**Hey guys! My beta and I did our best to have this chapter ready to post asap. If you enjoy it even half as much as I enjoyed writing it, I'll be very pleased. I hope you like the end.

Additionally, I want to thank you for all the reviews and new favorites and follows. You are awesome! And once again thanks also to my beta; I don't know what I would do without you, **luvtheheaven**!

A brief note: In this chapter, you may be surprised by Henry's behavior, but don't forget that he's a _good _person who has found himself in a bad situation, and that he only wants to help his brother and sister-in-law.

Another thing… I'm really happy today! I've been writing the same chapter for several weeks. I don't know why, but it seems like I was stuck. But I just finished writing the Spanish version of chapter 19 and I can't be happier. It may be a silly thing, but I wanted to share the good news with all of you.

That said, enjoy the reading!

And don't forget, when you're bored, take some paper and your favorite pen and enjoy writing!

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**Chapter 12. Sara**

Henry hung up and checked the time. If the safe wasn't open yet, it would be soon.

"Felicity, come with me," Henry ordered.

"What? No! I _won't_ leave him."

"I need you down there with me."

"No, you don't! Once the decoding's done, the safe's door will open. You don't need me for anything, but Oliver does. I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay," he growled. Pointing at the cashier who had previously put the money in bags, he added, "You, come with me. Keep an eye on them, Mike, but this time for real. We don't want a repeat of what happened before, right?"

Mike nodded, as the cashier got up and followed Henry down the stairs, each of them carrying an empty bag.

When they reached the safe, they saw that it was still closed, but judging by the time it wouldn't take much longer.

The cashier was shaking in fear. Being alone with one of the robbers terrified her.

"Don't worry; I don't want to hurt you. I _won't_ hurt you."

She nodded slowly, although her fear hadn't diminished. After all, a man was bleeding to death upstairs and he had denied him aid.

Henry took Felicity's tablet and stared at the screen, as if that could make the time go by faster.

At some point the tablet beeped, and the safe's door was unlocked. To Henry and the cashier it seemed like a scene from an action movie. Henry opened the door and couldn't suppress a smile. There was more money than they needed.

"Come on; help me get it into the bags."

The cashier followed Henry into the chamber. It was bigger than they had imagined, and the wads of bills were settled in several shelves. They would need some time to fill the bags.

"My bag is full," the cashier muttered after a while, afraid to raise her voice.

Henry got some more wads into his bag before turning and saying, "Mine too. Let's go up."

Before going up, Henry grabbed the tablet. It was no longer necessary to keep down there, and he supposed that Felicity would be grateful to have it back. _Well… _he thought,_ maybe not now given the situation, but when the robbery is over._

Once upstairs, they left the bags on the floor. Henry ordered the cashier to join the rest of hostages in front of the windows.

"Do we have enough money?" Mike asked with hope.

"Yeah. As soon as the police bring the van we can go, so we'll wait until the officer calls again."

Mike smiled. The robbery hadn't gone as planned, but they already had the money and they were about to leave the bank.

Henry approached Felicity and left the tablet beside her, not realizing that it'd mean the police would have audio again.

He looked at the scene. Oliver was very pale, much too pale to mean anything good. Henry could also see that his breaths were quick and shallow, and his face was contorted with pain. Despite Felicity's attempts, Oliver kept bleeding, creating a puddle on the floor. It was a daunting picture which probably would haunt him at night for a long time.

Trying to shake that image out of his head, he looked at the blonde. She was scared; Henry could see it in the way she clenched her jaw and the tears that she was trying to not let fall.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

That surprised Henry. He didn't think she would have noticed that he was beside her.

"I brought you back your tablet."

She didn't answer. She didn't even look away from Oliver for a second.

"He'll go to the hospital soon."

Felicity flinched at hearing that. Maybe 'soon' would be too late. Oliver was getting worse by the minute.

"Do you have the money you need?" Felicity asked harshly.

"Yeah. As soon as they bring the van, all this will be over."

"Why don't you let him out now? You've already released several hostages. Why not him?" she asked in a tone that bordered on begging.

"Because he's a Queen. I'm making sure we have an escape route. Nothing more."

"And how will you do it? The building is surrounded by police. Even if they let you to get to the van, they won't—"

"We'll find a way. I'll do whatever it takes to bring back my sister-in-law."

"Talk to the police. Tell them what's going on! They can help you!"

"No! They were very clear. If they find out that we're working with the police they'll _kill her_. I can't take that chance."

"But you have no other option."

"Felicity," Oliver said her name so low that she barely heard him.

"Oliver! I'm here, I'm with you."

"I'm tired."

"I know, Oliver, I know... But you just have to hold on a little longer. In a few minutes we'll be free. Will you do that for me?" she asked, and then she realized that Oliver's gaze was unfocused. "Oliver, look at me. Don't close your eyes."

Oliver was struggling with all his might to keep his eyes open, but he wasn't very successful. His vision was becoming more and more blurred. He closed his eyes to try to focus, but when he opened them again the image he found shocked him.

"Sara?"

Felicity looked at him, confused.

"Is that you, Sara? You can't be here..."

"Oliver? Oliver, listen to me. I'm not Sara; I'm _Felicity_. Do you hear me? Oliver, please hear my voice. Come back to me."

"But I saw you die... Am I dead too?"

"No, you're not!" Felicity yelled at him. The tears that she had been holding back now ran freely down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Sara. I tried to save you, but I failed... I'm so sorry, Sara, so sorry..."

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**A/N 2:**Thanks for reading! And please don't forget to leave me reviews so that I'll know what you think. Thank you very much!

And of course, I want to reply to the guests, per usual.

Hey Kat! Good to know you're still around.

Tori: Henry is a complex character. He's harsh and rude, but at the same time, he's a caring person, who only wants the best for his family... And I have big plans for him. ;-)


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